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Posted on 06/22/2025 8:44:09 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
The Oklahoma City Thunder have won the NBA Finals, capping a thrilling seven-game series against the Indiana Pacers with a dominant 103-91 victory.
It is the Thunder's first NBA championship since the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. And the Thunder are the seventh different NBA team to win a title in the past seven years, a remarkable run of parity for the league.
"It doesn't feel real. So many hours, so many moments, so many emotions, so many nights of disbelief, so many nights of belief," the Thunder's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was named Finals MVP, said in a TV interview after the game. "This group put in the hours, and we deserve this."
The series was the first NBA Finals since 2016 to reach Game 7, and both teams had staged comebacks in earlier games, setting the stage for a dramatic and competitive winner-take-all finale. But Indiana's star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton, exited the game in the first quarter with an Achilles injury.
Haliburton, 25, had emerged as a bona fide star in this year's playoffs, as he and the Pacers staged comeback after comeback to elbow their way into the Finals as the Eastern Conference's No. 4 seed. In four different games, he hit a game-tying or game-winning shot in the final five seconds, including Game 1 of the Finals.
Then, trouble arrived: He strained his right calf in Game 5, raising questions about his ability to continue playing in the Finals. He played just 23 minutes in Indiana's 108-91 romp of the Thunder in Game 6.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
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Hahahahaha...the thug league is finally over. Who the f cares?
Yawn.
No stars. Unknown players.
Oklahoma has a basketball team? What happened to the Chicago Bulls? I remember when they were big.
Brutal postseason for the NBA. So many of the better players in the league went down with injuries before and during the playoffs. TV ratings for the finals were at/near historic lows. Given the relatively small TV markets of the two teams, it was expected there would be some decline from last year. But they really dropped off a cliff.
If NPR is reporting this as news it cannot be good for the Country.
It’s a hollow victory tyrese tore his Achilles so without their star player the pacers didn’t stand a chance..but Indiana blew game 4 when they were up 10 they would have won the series in six
They got really lucky that their opponents best player wasn’t healthy most of the series.
And now a promising young team, the Rockets, decided to fold.
And yet it was the most competitive series since the last time the Finals went to Game 7 in 2016 (when the Cavaliers got their sole Finals victory over the Warriors).
Unknown players? Umm, okay.
KD will never be THE guy on a championship team
Maintaining player health is part of the game. The Pacers failed at that.
Failure = No championship.
And I was pulling for them.
“Thrilling”? A basketball game? Hyperbole much?
No. He peaked when he was still on OKC. But since he’s left the Warriors, none of his teams were contenders even though they were “super teams.”
I was happy the Warriors didn’t try to trade for him last season. Butler actually dragged lesser teams to the finals. KD can still put up numbers but he can’t seem to help his team enough.
Trining camp starts in August. Theses thugs are on YV 24/7
Viewership was down significantly for the couple of small-market teams.
I hadn’t watched the NBA for a long time.
Being that the Pistons made the playoffs I tuned in.
Followed the rest of the season on and off and I would agree.
Pretty good playoffs for the most part.
Onward with the Tigers now.👍
Really?
I mean it’s OK not to be a fan. But your statement is just ignorant.
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